"Scientific controls are modern formal experiments or observations designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable."
The ability to regulate extraneous variables and confounding factors that can impact the outcome of an experiment.
Independent and dependent variables: Understanding the concept of independent and dependent variables is crucial as they help identify the cause-and-effect relationship between them.
Control group: A group of individuals who undergo the same conditions except for the variable being tested, resulting in the control of extraneous variables that may impact the findings.
Blind and double-blind studies: Blind studies refer to the participants being unaware of which group they belong to (experimental or control), while double-blind studies involve both the participants and the researcher being unaware.
Experimental designs: A framework to structure experiments in a methodical and logical manner.
Confounding variables: Variables that influence the relationship between independent and dependent variables, making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions.
Placebo effect: A phenomenon where a person experiences improvement in their condition after receiving a placebo (fake treatment) simply because they believe they are receiving treatment.
Randomization: A technique used to select participants randomly to avoid bias and increase the likelihood of generalizing the findings.
within-subject design: A design in which each participant undergoes all the experimental conditions.
Counterbalancing: A technique used in within-subject design where the order of presenting conditions is varied between participants, thereby controlling for order effects.
Between-subject design: A design in which different groups of participants are exposed to different experimental conditions.
Quasi-experimental designs: A research design that lacks full control over the independent variables due to ethical or logistical reasons.
Threats to internal validity: Factors that affect the study's internal validity, such as instrumentation, regression, and history.
Threats to external validity: Factors that affect the study's external validity, such as population validity, ecological validity, and temporal validity.
Correlation and regression analysis: Statistical techniques used to measure the relationship between two or more variables.
Statistical analysis: Techniques used to analyze data collected from experiments, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and significance testing.
Ethics in experimental research: Guidelines and principles that need to be followed while conducting experiments on human and animal subjects to ensure the well-being of participants and ethical standards are maintained.
Replication and generalization: The process of repeating the study to confirm the findings' validity and generalization of the findings to the population at large.
Randomization Control: In this type of control, researchers randomly assign subjects to different groups, such as treatment and control groups or different experimental conditions, to eliminate the effects of extraneous variables.
Placebo Control: Placebo control is used in studies that involve testing new drugs or treatments. Participants receive a fake treatment or a neutral substance, such as sugar pills, to compare the effects of the real treatment.
Statistic Control: Statistic control is used to eliminate the effects of extraneous variables by including them as variables in the statistical analysis of the study. By controlling variables such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status, researchers can determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables more accurately.
Active Control: In an active control study, participants receive another treatment, such as an existing drug, instead of a placebo. This control is used to determine if the new treatment is more effective than the existing treatment.
Within-subject Control: In this type of control, each participant serves as their control group. Participants are exposed to different experimental conditions, and their responses are compared under each condition.
Baseline Control: Baseline control measures the behavior or psychological state of the participant before an experimental intervention. By measuring the baseline of the participant, researchers can determine the effect of the intervention more accurately.
Experimenter Effects Control: This control is used to eliminate the effects of the experimenter on the participant's behavior. This control can include randomly assigning participants to different experimenters or blinding the experimenter to the treatment or condition.
Environmental Control: Environmental control is used to ensure that the experimental conditions are identical across different studies. This can include controlling the temperature, lighting, and noise levels of the study environment.
Control Group: A control group is a group of participants in a study who do not receive the experimental treatment. The control group is compared to the treatment group to determine the effect of the experimental treatment.
Counterbalancing: Counterbalancing is a type of control used to eliminate order effects. Participants are randomly assigned to different orders of experimental conditions to determine if the order of conditions affects the outcomes of the study.
"This increases the reliability of the results."
"Scientific controls are designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable."
"For thousands of years."
"Informal improvements in any process or enquiry have been made by comparison between what was done previously and the new method."
"Often through a comparison between control measurements and the other measurements."
"Scientific controls are modern formal experiments or observations."
"Scientific controls are a part of the scientific method."
"To increase the reliability of the results."
"By minimizing the effects of variables other than the independent variable."
"The reliability of the results is increased."
"To assess the effects of variables other than the independent variable."
"Informal improvements have been made for thousands of years."
"By comparing what was done previously with new methods."
"By minimizing the effects of variables other than the independent variable."
"By minimizing the influence of confounding variables."
"Control measurements are compared to other measurements."
"Scientific controls are modern formal experiments or observations."
"By increasing the reliability of results."
"Scientific controls are a modern formal experiment or observation."